Pokémon World Championships shootout averted after cop tip-off

In one of the unlikeliest shootout thwartings in years, attendees of the Pokémon World Championships escaped a potential shootout after police received a tip-off that high-powered weapons had been smuggled into the event.

While battling at the Pokémon World Championships was always likely to happen, with players taking on each other in card battle, few could have predicted that it could have been real bullets rather than Pikachu’s lightning bolts that could have been flying.

According to the Boston Police Department’s website, the event taking place in the US city was awaiting the arrival of two of the card competition’s finalists – Kevin Norton (18) and James Stumbo (27) – but they were prevented from entering the building by security after it became known their luggage contained a range of powerful weaponry.

Apparently, the security team for the venue informed police that Pokémon fans were getting into rather heated arguments on social media, including Norton and Stumbo, who had threatened the lives of some of the other attendees.

The weapons seized by the Boston Police Department. Image via BPD

Driving from Iowa to Boston on Thursday 20 August, the police were able to work from their tip-off and pull over the two men on their way to ‘catch ‘em all’ and were astounded to uncover “one 12-gauge Remington shotgun, one DPMS Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife”.

Obviously forgetting how the internet works, the pair had earlier in the week posted an image of themselves on social media with the car full of guns and explaining their ruthless intentions.

The pair were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other firearm-related charges.